Next to You
by Absolut Asian
Summary: So many years deep into my marriage, and yet still I only love you...and you're not mine.' Temptation floats through the air and pushes each closer to infidelity. Gippal x Rikku


Next to You

By Real-fan05

OoO

"_Léon, I think I'm falling in love with you. It's the first time for me, you know?"_

"_How do you know it's love if you've never been in love before?"_

"_Cause I feel it."_

"_Where?"_

"_In my stomach. It's all warm. I always had a knot and now…it's gone."_

"_Mathilda, I'm glad you don't have a stomachache anymore. I don't think it means anything."_

-Léon the Professional (1994)

OoO

One manly figure sat next to a delicately tiny one on a faded and torn couch, neither one moving, speaking or seemingly breathing. Temptation was in the air and it was something that neither of them could deny. But one simple movement towards touching would lead to trouble, as to both this friendly man and this bouncy woman were taken romantically and in a monogamous relationship; each had been with their partner for seemingly one year too long, and if these ties were to be broken, mass emotional destruction was to take place.

He longed to just move several inches closer to her and stroke the top of her lovely blonde dome; his fingers ached to trace the flawless figure of her, to ravish in her beauty and let the hours count away as he made endless love to her. She wished to simply hold his broad and callused hands; to kiss his full and luscious lips, to lay her head down on his shoulder and listen to the crackling of the fireplace in front of them. The tantalization was endless.

She sighed, not meaning too. Immediately this caught his attention; his eyes averted from his feet that were firmly placed on the floor to the woman sitting next to him. Their eyes locked, but only for a second. Each quickly glanced down towards the ground, a faint blush passing on their cheeks.

_How did it end up this way? _The thought entered her mind as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. So many years ago, when they were both young and foolish, they had a short lived relationship, before they separated for no apparent reason. But the spark between them lasted and grew larger as the years passed, though neither of them acknowledged it. By the time that she had turned twenty one and him twenty two, both were still unattached – but too afraid to make a move towards one another. This resulted in two others, a man and a woman, finding their ways to the duo and snatching their hearts in the process. Hers was a Machina builder who worked long hours but still managed to find time in his busy schedule to sit down with his wife and tell her that she was the apple of his eye. His, however, was most unexpected by all, being the cousin of the original object of his affection. She had realized she was enamored with him and left her former spouse to be with him. And now both relationships were on their seventh anniversaries, amidst one child from each marriage. Deciding that since both anniversaries were so close date wise, the couples had decided to meet at his house to celebrate.

And now the two of them were sitting in the living room together, alone, and with barely any space between them. Their spouses were in the kitchen cooking a hearty meal for the four of them and the children to eat, the two of them oblivious to the fact that they had left two former lovers alone in a living room that was romantically lit by a fireplace.

He cleared his throat to bring her back to reality. Her head snapped in surprise; she turned to see that there was a shy grin on his face, one she had seen in her dreams too many times before.

_This has gone too awkward for too long. _The silence had reigned over them for perhaps half an hour now. She glanced at the sphere clock on the table; it read 6:05 PM. Her stomach rumbled at her angrily, but she knew it wasn't because she was hungry.

"So," he uttered, his voice shaky and scared, "How have things been going with you?"

She stumbled over her words. "…G-Good, you could say. I've been busy with my daughter, working on collecting more spheres so I could sell them to help feed the family, you know, all that stuff…" He nodded. It did not show in his face, but this tiny conversation they were having was brightening his life light bulb by a 1000 watts. "I'm guessing everything on your side of Spira is fine?"

He laughed. "Yes, everything is good with me. My life is great, you could say. My Home has been rebuilt, better then ever before, my wife is forever faithful and loving, I have a daughter with another kid on the way, and I manage to sleep well every night-" He stopped himself. That was an utter lie. Truthfully, he woke nearly every night, having been plagued by dreams of _her_, her of aureate beauty, her who was sitting next to him, her who was not his wife.

He attempted to continue conversing. "Anyway, life has been great. I couldn't be happier with the direction that things have taken. I mean, I'm on my _seventh_ anniversary. I've managed to stay loyal to my spouse, which is something I would never expected back when I was eighteen, or maybe even in my early twenties…I always liked fooling with women, but that was until I settled down." She silently agreed.

"So, you're saying you would never cheat on her?" _Dammit_. She mentally slapped herself for saying that. But the question, though indelicate that it was, was one that both of them wondered each and every night. That along with the two of them pondering if they really, truly did love the one they wore a ring on their finger for.

"What?" His heart started to beat faster.

"Um," She contemplated whether or not to repeat the question, which she was dying to know the answer to. "I said, so you're saying you would never cheat on her?" _Her, my cousin? _His mouth fell open in surprise, as hers shut tight.

"I…uh…don't know. If she's truly the one, then there is no doubt that I would never commit infidelity. Besides, I'm a little too old for that. I think that I'm past that age. I didn't say 'I do' when the priest said all that junk about 'lifelong commitment' for nothing, now did I?" She giggled, he smiled.

They paused and the conversation instantaneously died down. No longer was either of them afraid of looking at each other. He stared deeply into her swirling green eyes, while she returned the affectionate gaze. Their bodies inched closer to each other and the heat between them grew hotter, almost as hot as the fire blazing and crackling in the fireplace.

Their faces were just inches apart, so close that their breaths came out in unison. And just before their lips met, images flashed in their minds.

_Sweat…_

_Bodies…_

_Moans…_

_Gasps…_

_Hands…_

_Mouths…_

_So close…_

_Intertwining…_

_Satisfaction…_

"_Damn…"_

_So very close…_

"_Yes…please…"_

_Wait…_

"…_We…we can't…"_

She opened her eyes and snapped back to reality, pushing his body as far away from hers as possible. Her cheeks flushed as she jumped off the couch and brushed herself off; he sat there, slumped against the couch's arm, disappointment washing through his system. He knew it was right that she had done that though. Once again the awkward silence returned between the two of them – it was saved, however, by a woman's cheerful voice ringing from the kitchen, exclaiming, "It's time to eat you two! The feast of Spira is about to begin!"

Their eyes met one last time before they headed towards the dining room. He sighed, she pursed her lips.

One thing that both of them knew was that this was not over; in fact, it would never be over. These 'almost there' moments would continue to occur over the years of these marriages, and…eventually, something would happen between them. Their love for each other would explode on impact, like a nuclear bomb dropped from the sky. The passion would float in and through the room, driving them insane.

But for now…

…they would be content being next to each other.

OoO

Yes, Rikku and Gippal's names are never once mentioned in this story. I realize that. And if you did not quite understand the images flashing in the mind, that was a real event that actually occured between the two of them - meaning that Rikku and Gippal have gotten _this_ close to committing adultery before, and this is not the first time they have been in the act of (almost) infidelity. Will the two lovebirds ever actually make love? Kiss again? Or even leave their husband and wife for each other? That's up for you to decide - thus the reason this is a one-shot. No more chapters. Review this, don't just read it and walk away! I need a review! Can I pull of Gippal x Rikku? Or should I leave it up to other millions of authors and authoresses? REVIEW, PLEASE!


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